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Japanese judoka Keiji Suzuki, the gold medallist in 2003 Osaka worlds, claimed the men's over 100kg title at the Athens Olympics on Friday (Aug. 20) afternoon.

Suzuki, 24, made an ippon win over Russian Tamerlan Tmenov, the bronze medallist at the Sydney Olympics, in the final.

Suzuki told the after-match press conference that he was a bit nervous from the first knockout duel but his form rose from better to best afterwards.

"In Olympic competitions, anything can happen. The support from the spectators gave me confidence to win," he said.

"I was not in this class before and I had injury. But I was determined to fight to the end."

Silver medallist Tamerlan said, "Judo in Japan is not only a sport, but also a tradition of more than 200 years. They always have five to six top-class players in one category. That's why they are supreme in this sport."

"We came here for medals. And I got one even though the color is not the best. It is not a tragedy for me. It is Judo. We have trained for years. But we cannot say we understand it 100 percent." he added.

Der Geest Dennis from the Netherlands, the silver medallist of the 2003 Osaka worlds, and Indrek Pertelson from Estonia, the bronze medallist of the Sydney Olympics, shared the bronze here today.

After Suzuki's win, the seven-day judo competitions of the Athens Olympics ended.

Japan, the birthplace of the sport, became the top winner as it swept eight out of the 14 gold medals up for grabs. The other six golds went to China, Belarus, South Korea, Germany, Georgia and hosts Greece, one for each.

Editor: Catherine